Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 02-550 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, September 25, 2002 MASS LAYOFFS IN AUGUST 2002 Employers initiated 1,247 mass layoff actions in August 2002, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single esta- blishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 128,080. (See table 1.) A year earlier, in August 2001, there were 1,490 mass layoff events involving 166,148 workers. Mass layoff initial claims in August are usually among the lowest for the year. Almost 9 percent of the initial claims in August were from the temporary help services industry (11,059). From January through August 2002, both the total number of events, at 13,090, and initial claims, at 1,445,228, were lower than January-August 2001 (13,148 and 1,574,128, respectively). The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the esta- blishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because month- ly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution Manufacturing industries accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 38 percent of all initial claims filed in August. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 40 percent of events and 48 percent of initial claims. The number of initial claimants was highest in machinery man- ufacturing (9,197, mostly in air conditioning, refrigeration, and forced air heating equipment), followed by transportation equipment (6,665, largely in aircraft manufacturing) and computer and electronic products (6,202, primar- ily in semiconductors and related devices). (See table 2.) Fourteen percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed during the month were in administrative and waste services, mostly in temporary help services. (From January through August, 102,476 mass layoff initial claims were filed from temporary help services.) Nine percent of the events and initial claims in August were from retail trade industries, mainly in general merchandise stores. Construction accounted for 8 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, primarily among specialty trade contractors. The transportation and warehousing sector accounted for an additional 5 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, largely in school and employee bus transportation. - 2 - Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and initial claims filed during the month, mostly in executive, legislative, and general government agencies. Compared with August 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-9,491) and computer and electronic product manufacturing (-9,386). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transit and ground passenger transportation (+1,893) and general merchandise stores (+1,399). Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in August due to mass layoffs was in the West, 43,122. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and professional and technical services accounted for 34 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. The South fol- lowed with 31,764 initial claims (mainly in administrative and support ser- vices), then the Midwest, with 28,016 (largely in machinery manufacturing). The Northeast continued to report the lowest number of initial claims, with 25,178 (mostly in transit and ground passenger transportation). The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in three of the four geographic regions, with the largest decreases occur- ring in the West (-19,704) and Midwest (-16,601). Seven of the nine geograph- ic divisions reported over-the-year declines in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the Pacific (-18,754) and East North Central (-14,303). The largest increase (+717) was reported in the New England division. California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this August, 34,590, mostly in administrative and support services and in professional and technical services, followed by Texas (11,660) and New York (11,213). These three states accounted for 48 percent of all layoff events and 45 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Thus far this year, 366,386 mass layoff initial claims were filed in California, 25 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims were Texas (87,953) and Pennsylvania (84,225). California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-15,753), followed by Michigan (-10,379). The largest over- the-year increase occurred in New York (+5,035). ______________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in September 2002 will be issued on Thursday, October 24, 2002. - 3 - -------------------------------------------------------------------- | Change in Industry Classification System | | | | Beginning with the release of January 2002 mass layoff data | | on February 28, 2002, the Mass Layoff Statistics program imple- | | mented the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classifi- | | cation System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabula- | | tion of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a co- | | operative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the | | United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS | | and the previously used Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) | | structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be comparable to | | the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly histor-| | ical industry series from April 1995 through December 2001 are a- | | vailable on both SIC and NAICS bases. | | | | NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic | | units. Units with similar production processes are classified in | | the same industry. NAICS focuses on how products and services are | | created, as opposed to the SIC focus on what is produced. This ap- | | proach yields significantly different industry groupings than those| | produced by the SIC approach. | | | | Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the | | BLS Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of | | the Census Web page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Technical Note The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis. A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the- month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into consideration. The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2000 to August 2002 Extended mass layoffs Total mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2000 July ....................... 1,333 164,978 August ..................... 751 97,215 September .................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter .............. 3,020 369,035 1,014 189,250 33.6 51.3 October .................... 874 103,755 November ................... 1,697 216,514 December ................... 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............. 5,248 647,012 2,005 376,611 38.2 58.2 2001 January .................... 1,522 200,343 February ................... 1,501 172,908 March ...................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter .............. 4,550 544,717 1,765 340,210 38.8 62.5 April ...................... 1,450 176,265 May ........................ 1,434 159,365 June ....................... 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter ............. 4,991 589,456 2,072 401,168 41.5 68.1 July ....................... 2,117 273,807 August ..................... 1,490 166,148 September .................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter .............. 4,934 600,357 1,815 370,620 36.8 61.7 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 2,698 500,925 38.6 64.2 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,821 February ................... 1,383 138,984 March ...................... 1,460 161,336 First Quarter .............. 4,989 564,141 1,749 313,686 35.1 55.6 April ...................... 1,507 165,861 May ........................ 1,726 180,007 June ....................... 1,580 161,928 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 507,796 (2)(p)1,754 (2)(p)256,338 (p)36.4 (p)50.5 July(p) .................... 2,041 245,211 August(p) .................. 1,247 128,080 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available. Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry August June July August August June July August 2001r 2002 2002p 2002p 2001r 2002 2002p 2002p Total(1) ................................... 1,490 1,580 2,041 1,247 166,148 161,928 245,211 128,080 Total, private .................................. 1,459 1,356 1,936 1,189 163,504 142,567 235,558 122,106 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 73 92 118 39 5,197 6,256 8,734 2,255 Mining ........................................ 8 8 12 10 682 1,210 1,450 701 Utilities ..................................... 3 3 4 ( 2 ) 169 303 320 ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 83 84 74 98 7,352 5,809 5,675 8,241 Manufacturing ................................. 603 336 908 427 79,515 42,117 135,313 48,733 Food ...................................... 49 49 60 47 5,082 5,851 6,102 5,150 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 7 6 ( 2 ) 5 504 452 ( 2 ) 405 Textile mills ............................. 27 10 33 12 3,166 1,118 4,795 1,177 Textile product mills ..................... 6 5 11 ( 2 ) 359 663 2,336 ( 2 ) Apparel ................................... 33 15 34 24 3,546 1,363 3,196 3,127 Leather and allied products ............... 9 ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 809 ( 2 ) 378 ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 9 18 28 11 803 2,359 2,893 1,198 Paper ..................................... 16 8 13 8 2,876 1,078 1,244 741 Printing and related support activities ... 10 13 13 5 623 1,057 1,331 558 Petroleum and coal products ............... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Chemicals ................................. 10 6 14 ( 2 ) 825 606 1,451 ( 2 ) Plastics and rubber products .............. 20 10 71 16 1,834 898 10,080 1,368 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 8 8 18 12 1,233 754 2,813 1,334 Primary metals ............................ 32 18 64 25 3,267 2,681 7,651 2,862 Fabricated metal products ................. 44 20 60 33 4,170 2,103 7,556 3,136 Machinery ................................. 71 27 76 50 9,001 4,543 12,778 9,197 Computer and electronic products .......... 118 36 94 74 15,588 2,959 11,950 6,202 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 36 25 31 23 5,264 5,281 5,036 3,082 Transportation equipment .................. 64 34 234 50 16,156 5,594 47,583 6,665 Furniture and related products ............ 24 17 27 11 3,550 2,005 4,187 888 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 10 7 17 13 859 527 1,699 931 Wholesale trade ............................... 30 23 29 23 2,286 2,165 3,017 2,357 Retail trade .................................. 113 83 93 111 11,613 7,257 10,412 11,322 Transportation and warehousing ................ 71 141 71 68 7,359 18,068 6,658 8,140 Information ................................... 80 42 72 45 6,942 4,210 12,559 4,006 Finance and insurance ......................... 24 35 52 26 2,117 2,431 4,394 2,161 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 7 7 11 11 559 602 1,066 647 Professional and technical services ........... 46 36 74 47 11,618 8,902 6,818 6,455 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 5 3 3 - 361 621 323 - Administrative and waste services ............. 192 165 233 179 17,168 14,236 24,762 18,192 Educational services .......................... 7 18 15 ( 2 ) 385 1,128 1,239 ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 20 117 54 27 1,574 10,987 3,652 1,738 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 14 29 23 17 1,482 1,983 1,599 1,422 Accommodation and food services ............... 56 80 70 38 4,473 9,966 5,930 2,702 Other services, except public administration .. 15 49 17 13 1,419 3,976 1,385 1,745 Unclassified .................................. 9 5 3 3 1,233 340 252 737 Government ...................................... 31 224 105 58 2,644 19,361 9,653 5,974 Federal ....................................... 5 13 6 15 480 1,791 781 2,056 State ......................................... 13 16 17 12 1,231 1,665 1,315 1,596 Local ......................................... 13 195 82 31 933 15,905 7,557 2,322 1 For August 2002, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division August June July August August June July August 2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p United States(1) ..... (r)1,490 1,580 2,041 1,247 (r)166,148 161,928 245,211 128,080 Northeast .................. 224 258 315 195 24,891 30,153 35,012 25,178 New England .............. 34 57 68 27 3,180 6,746 7,000 3,897 Middle Atlantic .......... 190 201 247 168 21,711 23,407 28,012 21,281 South ...................... (r)318 380 485 308 (r)33,814 37,559 56,170 31,764 South Atlantic ........... 149 197 202 159 14,245 17,657 22,290 13,884 East South Central ....... 52 67 137 30 5,444 7,935 16,850 3,574 West South Central ....... (r)117 116 146 119 (r)14,125 11,967 17,030 14,306 Midwest .................... 315 311 574 251 44,617 36,493 89,068 28,016 East North Central ....... 245 238 468 186 35,511 27,739 66,354 21,208 West North Central ....... 70 73 106 65 9,106 8,754 22,714 6,808 West ....................... 633 631 667 493 62,826 57,723 64,961 43,122 Mountain ................. 53 59 66 38 4,883 7,073 6,399 3,933 Pacific .................. 580 572 601 455 57,943 50,650 58,562 39,189 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State August June July August August June July August 2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p Total(1) ................ (r)1,490 1,580 2,041 1,247 (r)166,148 161,928 245,211 128,080 Alabama .................... 10 24 56 5 678 3,415 7,290 691 Alaska ..................... ( 2 ) 4 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 401 - ( 2 ) Arizona .................... 10 23 28 7 655 2,576 2,528 485 Arkansas ................... 6 3 11 ( 2 ) 854 210 999 ( 2 ) California ................. 519 507 545 415 50,343 43,520 52,556 34,590 Colorado ................... 5 3 15 7 492 277 1,658 573 Connecticut ................ 3 14 6 4 308 2,018 598 588 Delaware ................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 642 - District of Columbia ....... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Florida .................... 71 104 92 72 5,822 7,222 6,405 5,154 Georgia .................... 16 20 9 17 1,368 2,966 824 1,734 Hawaii ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 256 ( 2 ) Idaho ...................... 8 7 7 10 804 1,571 864 1,708 Illinois ................... 56 58 62 51 6,441 6,074 9,521 6,185 Indiana .................... 24 27 72 23 3,291 4,628 11,367 2,954 Iowa ....................... 15 13 25 10 1,373 1,615 6,494 939 Kansas ..................... 11 4 15 11 1,104 439 3,701 1,378 Kentucky ................... 24 20 59 14 3,422 2,252 7,580 2,032 Louisiana .................. (r)19 28 18 19 (r)3,105 2,757 1,294 1,513 Maine ...................... 3 4 ( 2 ) - 211 225 ( 2 ) - Maryland ................... ( 2 ) 10 11 8 ( 2 ) 1,095 1,225 898 Massachusetts .............. 15 23 44 17 1,246 1,851 4,130 2,132 Michigan ................... 57 50 144 26 12,914 5,002 15,700 2,535 Minnesota .................. 11 19 16 11 1,421 2,900 1,702 1,243 Mississippi ................ 3 6 5 3 182 405 583 176 Missouri ................... 27 26 42 28 4,474 2,665 9,917 2,884 Montana .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Nebraska ................... ( 2 ) 5 8 4 ( 2 ) 429 900 287 Nevada ..................... 23 15 11 11 1,958 1,933 991 891 New Hampshire .............. 7 5 5 3 840 1,229 696 618 New Jersey ................. 30 57 44 33 3,108 9,137 5,367 3,371 New Mexico ................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 168 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ................... 53 40 88 86 6,178 3,072 9,715 11,213 North Carolina ............. 22 18 23 27 1,732 1,771 2,244 3,104 North Dakota ............... 3 5 - ( 2 ) 430 644 - ( 2 ) Ohio ....................... 50 46 98 47 6,153 5,247 15,236 5,602 Oklahoma ................... 3 7 20 5 211 450 2,757 1,008 Oregon ..................... 33 30 27 24 4,986 3,446 2,829 2,603 Pennsylvania ............... 107 104 115 49 12,425 11,198 12,930 6,697 Rhode Island ............... 5 8 9 ( 2 ) 525 1,246 1,163 ( 2 ) South Carolina ............. 26 19 35 19 3,583 1,848 6,590 1,238 South Dakota ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - Tennessee .................. 15 17 17 8 1,162 1,863 1,397 675 Texas ...................... 89 78 97 93 9,955 8,550 11,980 11,660 Utah ....................... 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 242 422 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Vermont .................... ( 2 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 177 353 ( 2 ) Virginia ................... 10 20 24 15 1,372 2,193 3,974 1,693 Washington ................. 25 29 26 14 2,337 3,163 2,921 1,856 West Virginia .............. - ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 308 ( 2 ) Wisconsin .................. 58 57 92 39 6,712 6,788 14,530 3,932 Wyoming .................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ................ 9 9 11 10 862 998 2,251 772 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.